the 2/7th Infantry Battalion capturing Barce and then Marsa Brega before the 20th Brigade arrived to relieve them, as part of preparations to redeploy the 6th Division to Greece in response to promises to defend the country against an expected German invasion. The brigade subsequently concentrated around Amiriya, in Egypt. The 6th Division deployed in stages, with the 16th deploying first, followed by the 19th. The 17th arrived in mid-April, disembarking at Piraeus along with the 2/11th Infantry Battalion, which had not deployed with the rest of the 19th Brigade. They arrived as the German invasion was in full swing and upon their arrival the troops were loaded into trucks and driven to the front line around Larissa with orders to form a blocking position. While the 2/6th and 2/7th Infantry Battalions established rearguard positions around Domokos, the brigade's headquarters formed an ad hoc formation consisting of the 2/5th and 2/11th Infantry Battalions and took up positions on the Grevena–Kalabaka road. As the German advance pushed the Allies back, the brigade was pushed south in a series of withdrawals until they were ordered to evacuate from Kalamata in late April. While the majority of the brigade was evacuated back to Palestine, in the confusion the 2/7th was sent to Crete while several hundred men from the 2/5th and 2/6th were also landed after their troopship, the Costa Rica, was sunk en route to Alexandria. The 2/7th was attached to the 19th Brigade at this time, while the two smaller battalions formed a 17th Brigade Composite Battalion, which was assigned to Cremor Force. Cremor Force assumed defensive positions around the western end of the island, with the 17th Brigade Composite Battalion located around Suda Point, while the 2/7th defended Georgiopolis. On 20 May, the Germans launched an invasion of Crete, after which there was heavy fighting on the island as the British, Greek, New Zealand, and Australian defenders fought to repel the airborne assault. Despite inflicting heavy casualties, the Allies lost control of the airfield around Malame and were eventually pushed back towards Sfakia, from where only part of the garrison could be evacuated. During the fighting on Crete, the 2/7th's most significant action came during the Battle of 42nd Street, when they took part in a bayonet assault alongside the Maori Battalion, inflicting heavy casualties on a battalion of the 141st Gebirgsjager Regiment. After three days of rearguard fighting in